If it is designed to run arbitrary software, clearly it's a general-purpose computing device, no? And maybe the ergonomics of phones makes their potential as general-purpose computers limited, but that argument doesn't fly for tablets (even on HN people use their tablet as a main work device, eg: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22731192), and iirc Apple's draconic policies also extend to iPads.
It certainly looks like a slippery slope from where I'm standing. People have gotten used to not having full ownership of their phones, and tablets are kinda just big phones, so people have gotten used to not having full ownership of their tablets. But a tablet is also kind of like a small, highly portable laptop, and in fact many people use them as such. The boundary between the two is also blurring, with tablets becoming more laptop-like and laptops becoming more tablet-like.
I don't think it's a huge leap from here to fear that we are witnessing a trend, and that our ownership of our true general-purpose computing devices, such as our laptops, is not something we should take for granted.
It certainly looks like a slippery slope from where I'm standing. People have gotten used to not having full ownership of their phones, and tablets are kinda just big phones, so people have gotten used to not having full ownership of their tablets. But a tablet is also kind of like a small, highly portable laptop, and in fact many people use them as such. The boundary between the two is also blurring, with tablets becoming more laptop-like and laptops becoming more tablet-like.
I don't think it's a huge leap from here to fear that we are witnessing a trend, and that our ownership of our true general-purpose computing devices, such as our laptops, is not something we should take for granted.